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Atlético edge past Leverkusen on penalties

Club Atlético de Madrid 1-0 Bayer 04 Leverkusen (aet; agg: 1-1, Atlético win 3-2 on pens)
Mario Suárez's deflected first-half effort levelled the tie, and Atlético held their nerve in the shoot-out.

Atlético 1-0 Leverkusen: the story in photos ©AFP/Getty Images

Atlético win on penalties against Leverkusen
Mario Suárez's deflected effort levels tie on aggregate
Leverkusen miss three kicks in penalty shoot-out
Atlético substitute Fernando Torres converts decisive penalty
• Quarter-final draw in Nyon on 20 March at 12.00CET

Club Atlético de Madrid reached the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals by eventually seeing off the challenge of Bayer 04 Leverkusen on penalties in an engrossing tie in Spain.

Atlético drew level on aggregate midway through the first period thanks to Mario Suárez's deflected effort, yet despite controlling the majority of the remainder of the game last season's runners-up were unable to force a second goal. Extra time could not separate the sides either, and in the shoot-out Raúl García blazed Atlético's first kick over the bar.

Hakan Çalhanoğlu was promptly denied by Atlético's substitute goalkeeper Jan Oblak, however, and when Ömer Toprak fired over, it was advantage Atlético. Bernd Leno saved the next kick from Koke, but Fernando Torres converted the home side's fifth kick and Stefan Kiessling missed the target with Leverkusen's final penalty.

Defending a 1-0 lead from the first leg, Leverkusen had cause for optimism having won their previous five matches without conceding a goal. Indeed there was disruption in the Atlético rearguard before a quarter of the match had elapsed as goalkeeper Miguel Ángel Moyà limped off to be replaced by Oblak.

Leverkusen had had the best chance up to that point, Karim Bellarabi's shot deflected wide, but Atlético gradually upped the pressure on the visiting defence and 27 minutes in they were rewarded. The visitors seemed to have dealt with Koke's free-kick but cleared only as far as Cani; he headed square for Suárez and, though Leno looked to have had the shot covered, a deflection off Ömer Toprak took it beyond him.